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BCGEU succeeds in appeal of Elections B.C. fine

“The court accepted our argument that the union acted in good faith when we consulted Elections B.C. regarding our advertising,” said BCGEU President Darryl Walker.

Vancouver (11 Sept. 2012) - The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) announced today that the union was successful in its appeal of the $3.2 million fine levied by Elections B.C. under the B.C. Liberal government’s elections advertising legislation.

In a decision handed down today by the B.C. Supreme Court, the union has been fully relieved of the fine and will not be deregistered as an election advertiser in the upcoming provincial election.

“The court accepted our argument that the union acted in good faith when we consulted Elections B.C. regarding our advertising,” said BCGEU President Darryl Walker. “We are pleased that Elections B.C. did not oppose our petition in this regard.”

The legislation is drafted in a way that limits Elections B.C. officials’ discretion in levying penalties under the Act – forcing the union to go to court to achieve relief from fines and penalties.

The union also said it will not pursue the remaining elements of its petition to the court involving the interpretation of election advertising and calculation of the fine.

“We still believe that the advertisement in question was not election advertising,” said Walker. “But that is a fight for another day. I’m pleased that the court agreed with our petition.”

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE